Hummingbird on Guard

There are two hummingbird feeders on my deck. This little guy has decided one of them is his private feeding station. He spends time watching the feeder from a nearby tree. When another hummer arrives, he takes off like a jet to chase away the competition.

He doesn't seem so protective of the other feeder on the deck. Other hummers can feed there (usually) without being bullied.

→ Click on images for a better view. ←

This bird is a male Anna's Hummingbird. This is the only species of hummer that lives in Seattle all year. We have a few other species visit during the summer months.

He constantly scans the area ... head moving back and forth.

It took a while for him to get comfortable with me sitting on the deck with camera in hand. When I first started sitting out there, with the goal of getting some close-ups, he would take off and zoom around the yard. The beautiful red feathers around his neck and head are tough to capture with all their brilliance as the sunlight and his positioning need to be just right.

In the photo above, notice the tiny feet. Hummingbirds, like most birds, have four toes: three toes in the front and one toe, also called the hallux, in the back.

This time he landed on the tree with back toward me.
He still watches all around.

I don't want to leave the impression that this is all-day-behavior. It's actually random how long he will stay on guard.

While we are on hummers, check out a fascinating video on YouTube posted by an old man who placed 16 feeders in his front yard ...

Another bird recently spotted ...

Song Sparrow ... they are in Seattle all year.

Check out more critter photos at Saturday's Critters.  Thanks, Eileen, for hosting!

World's Largest Ship Loading Cranes arrive Seattle

On June 13th the world's largest ship loading cranes arrived
in Seattle. The cranes were manufactured in China.
They are about 360 feet (110 m) high.

The delivery ship is the Zhen Hua 36

The new cranes will operate at Port of Seattle
Terminal 5 which has excellent railway access.

I would love to be there to see how they unload the cranes
from the ship, but the public is not invited.

This diagram shows the reach of the new cranes
as compared to currently used cranes.
The new ones will be able to load/unload
the largest container ships in global service.

June 15th ...
My photo of Zhen Hua 36 snapped while on my walk on
the waterfront trail ... all the way across Elliott Bay.
The Canon SX730 with 40X zoom can capture views
almost like looking through binoculars.

Update June 20th ...

This photo snapped while on my walk, Sunday, June 20.
2 of the 4 cranes delivered by Zhen Hua 36 have been
moved shore side.

Update June 22 ...

This photo snapped while on my walk, Tuesday, June 22.
All 4 of the giant cranes have been moved shore side.
They arrived on the 13th ... all unloaded by end of day June 21.

The Zhen Hua 36 is a Heavy Lift Vessel that was built in 2003 and is sailing under the flag of Liberia.

More ships spotted ... snapped along the waterfront trail walk ...

National Geographic's Sea Lion at Terminal 90.
The lighter blue ship is a servicing vessel named Global Provider.

Read all about Sea Lion

RUTH has arrived at the Grain Terminal

RUTH's home port is Monrovia and
she flys the flag of Liberia.

The flag caught my attention ... it looks like the American
flag yet with just one star and 11 stripes. Yes, it's the flag of Liberia.

Snapped from home ...

RUTH at anchor before moving to Grain Terminal

NOAA Ship Rainier (S 221) survey vessel near Elliott Bay Marina
NOAA Rainier

What I like about this photo:  It gives a good idea of scale.
Sailboats and a fairly large yacht in the foreground
give a good idea of the size of CMA CGM container ship.

A few miscellaneous captures along recent walks ...

Saw the baby bunny on the trail ahead when
he/she scampered into hiding spot.

It's past its prime but it still fascinates me the way
nature comes up with these designs.

Most of the iris have passed blooming.
This one is a late bloomer.
On a morning after a rainy night.

Just a random spot I happened to glance down.
Actually had to step back a few paces to look again
and snap the photo.

Closing thought ...

“Being able to smell the fresh air and disconnect from the news and your phone—there’s nothing like it.”

     Jason Ward

Seattle's Waterfront Trail

Waterfront Trail along Elliott Bay, Seattle, Washington
Note - Click on images for enlarged, better view.

The long days of summer are here. The pandemic is fading. Masks are no longer needed on my daily walk along Seattle's Waterfront Trail. It's so nice to see someone share a smile in passing. Every day the steps are the same but the story is different. Most of the photos below are taken along the walk, some are from home.

Birds

Purple Martins

Check out more critter photos on blogs via Saturday's Critters and thanks to Eileen for hosting.

I believe this is a House Finch.
I happened to be sitting on my deck with camera
nearby when this little bird landed at the top of
a tree nearby. I am happy with this lucky catch.

One of my recent hummer visitors.
I've been feeding hummers for about a year now.
Some of them, I believe, are accustomed to me sitting
on my deck watching them. Occasionally, after feeding, 
one will fly about an arm's length away from me and
just hover for a few seconds. I wonder if they
are saying Thank You. 😊

Blooms

Just one of the blooms in the Rose Garden along the Trail.

Rose Garden along the Trail

Wild Rose

Purple Lupine

California Poppy

Flowering Black Locust

Wild Flax ... delicate and pretty!

Iris

One day, while walking the Trail, I sat down at a bench for a
few minutes to enjoy the view of Elliott Bay. I glanced down
and was amazed at all the tiny daisy blooms.

Birds AND Blooms!

A very kind friend of mine gave me a subscription
to Birds and Blooms for this year and I just wanted 
to say Thank You! This little magazine is loaded
with cool photos and information.

Ships

The Spar Vega Story

The Spar Vega bulk carrier arrived and anchored in Elliott Bay a few days ago. Instead of moving the ship into the commercial terminal area, a process began of unloading material onto barges, for the final miles to destination. After doing some research, I believe the material was a sand/gravel mix used in making concrete. Demand for concrete in the region currently exceeds supply and the concrete companies are going to unual lengths to obtain new supply.

The ship uses its own cranes to move the sand/gravel to barges.

At times barges were on both sides of the Spar Vega.

The unloading process is super dusty.

It surprised me that the Spar Vega carried its own
heavy machinery for moving the mix. See closer look below.

The ship's cranes seem to have no trouble picking up and
deploying the heavy machinery.

A port pilot boat arrives to check things out.
Note the stairs leading down to the boat for
visitor access.

When the work was complete the pilot boat did a 
tour around the ship before the Spar Vega departed.
It took 3 days for the unloading process to be completed.

A container carrier arrives just before the 
Spar Vega departed Elliott Bay.

Books

Books I'm enjoying and recommend ...

Ghost Rider by Neil Peart,
drummer and lyricist of the legendary rock band Rush.

Within a ten-month period, Neil Peart lost both his 19-year-old daughter, Selena, and his wife, Jackie. Faced with overwhelming sadness and isolated from the world in his home on the lake, Peart was left without direction. This memoir tells of the sense of personal devastation that led him on a 55,000-mile journey by motorcycle across much of North America, down through Mexico to Belize, and back again. Peart chronicles his personal odyssey and includes stories of reuniting with friends and family, grieving, and reminiscing. He recorded with dazzling artistry the enormous range of his travel adventures, from the mountains to the seas, from the deserts to the Arctic ice, and the memorable people who contributed to his healing. Ghost Rider is a brilliantly written and ultimately triumphant narrative memoir from a gifted writer and the drummer and lyricist of the legendary rock band Rush. I recommend the audio version on Audible.

The Hummingbird Handbook, by John Shewey

Just purchased yesterday at the Seattle Audubon Nature Shop, The Hummingbird Handbook, by John Shewey, is the best book I've found on hummingbirds. Highly recommended for hummingbird fans and available on Amazon.

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Alert ... ALONE, Season 8, premiered on The History Channel on June 3rd. It is also available without ads on Amazon Prime, all 10 episodes, for about $20. And if you're wondering why I mention this, check out my ALONE Season 7 post.

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Closing thought ...

"Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you."

        Anne Lamott